by MF Isaacs
Before the tears tipped over, I squeaked out “Please.”
CURTIS
I was excited to call Jimmy back to confirm that I would be in his wedding. I was happy to hear that he and Shelley would be coming for New Year’s Eve. I didn’t know what anyone else had planned for the night, but if all else failed, we could have everyone over to the condo. I spent about fifteen minutes on the phone with him before I made my way back upstairs to check on Natalie. I was surprised she wasn’t still sitting where I left her. I went back downstairs, thinking maybe she had someone help her go lay down.
When I opened our bedroom door and found the bed empty, I was a little concerned. As I turned to head back upstairs, I saw that her cell phone was still on the night stand, which means she didn’t go far. I went back upstairs in search of everyone or anyone. I found Sierra, who just woke up from a nap and didn’t know where anyone was. Amy and Luke were gone. When I called Steve, he was at work and Hannah was at home, neither had heard from Natalie. I tried Amy she was at the grocery store and said that Luke was stopping by all the dealerships to pick up some end of year paperwork. I called Cal and got his voicemail after three rings. Sierra was surprised I had gotten his voicemail. She went back to their room for her phone. When she called, he answered right away.
When her voice dropped to a whisper while talking to him, my gut dropped. I didn’t know what was going on, but I could feel the anxiety blistering from Sierra. I didn’t understand why. I felt the helplessness overtake me. I could feel the world spinning around me and I felt like I was spinning in the opposite direction.
When she hung up, her back was to me and she spoke over her shoulder without making eye contact. “Let’s go for a run.”
She didn’t wait for a response, she was already to her bedroom to change. I started to follow her, but I realized whatever she knew she didn’t want to tell me until, or unless, we were running. I didn’t know if I’d be able to run. My anxiety and worry about Natalie on top of feeling the anxiety Sierra was feeling, I didn’t know if I could do it.
Ten minutes later, we were stretching in silence while standing in the driveway. As soon as we started jogging at a pace much slower than either of us would normally go, she told me what she knows. “I don’t know what happened exactly. I know that Cal walked in on the tail end of you telling her that you invited him for New Year’s Eve and asked if she was okay with the wedding. Cal said her gaze was completely glossed over and you jumped up like a kid on Christmas and ran off. When he saw her face, she looked heart broken. He asked her if she wanted to get out of the house for a little bit and she said yes. He stopped at a gas station when you called, so he wasn’t in the car when I called. He said she hasn’t said a word, but she’s had silent tears rolling down her face since the minute he got her situated in the car.”
My mind was at a loss. “Where is he taking her?”
“He didn’t know where she wanted to go just yet. He said he’d let me know if they decided on a destination. Otherwise he was just going to drive her around for a while. Curtis, who did you invite over for New Year’s Eve?”
I started to tell her, my excitement from earlier returning “Jimmy. We’ll Jimmy and Shelley.”
When her steps faltered, I stopped to make sure she didn’t fall. Cal would kill me if something happened to her or the baby. She stopped too, “Please tell me you are not that fucking stupid.” I was caught off guard by my sister cussing at me.
“What are you talking about?”
“Curtis, you honestly invited someone you have admitted to being naked with to stay with you for New Year’s Eve. The one holiday that people are known to get drunk and make bad decision on. Did you for one fucking second think about the message that was sending Natalie. How would you feel if she invited one of her previous lovers to come stay with you two? How would you feel if she got fucking excited over the fact that they are coming to stay and you had no say what so ever in the decision?”
Damn she was pissed. It took me a minute to process anything other than how pissed Sierra was. As soon as I did, I realized the huge mistake and ultimately the message I had given Natalie. My heart hurt because I knew I hurt her. I thought I had done the right thing by telling Jimmy I had to talk to Natalie about being in the wedding, but I didn’t even give her a chance to talk about it. I don’t even know if she understood what I was saying. Before we could go any further, I told Sierra we needed to turn around.
Once back at the house I asked Sierra to call Cal and see if he could bring Natalie to the condo in an hour. Then, I had Sierra help me set the stage with a bottle of wine and candles. We used every minute of that hour to get the living room decorated just like the picture. As soon as Cal helped her into the living room, he and Sierra took off without a word.
I wanted to crowd her and apologize until she understood, but I gave her room to breathe before I told her what I needed to say. I handed her a glass of wine and spelled out what she needed to know. “I need to apologize and I want to explain. I hope you will hear me, because my heart hurts right now knowing that I’m the reason you needed to get out of the McMann’s house. I was fucking happy today. I woke up with you in my arms and my bed. I took you to get all your hidden shit and I couldn’t stop thinking about how fucking perfect you are. I love that you aren’t shy about your toys or movies. Then I got to spend time with the soccer team, they are a group of hard working kids. Watching them, I got excited knowing that I get to work with them. It was one more thing in my life that was showing me that life is good. When I got the phone call, I was already fucking happy. I didn’t even look at the caller ID, I honestly thought it was you calling. I was shocked to hear Jimmy on the other end. He was nervous, but within minutes, we were back to two college kids. He asked me if I would stand up for him in his wedding. He and his girlfriend are getting married the 28th of next month. They are expecting their first child. I am happy for him, for them. I’ve only met her once and she seemed very nice. When I congratulated him, I told him about our wedding in May and how I can only hope that we’ll be expecting a baby by then. He finally showed me that he really is happy and excited for the life he has. I am so fucking sorry if you felt like my excitement was about him. Sure, I am excited for him, but only because I know exactly how he feels.”
She sat in silence for a minute before she gave me her eyes and showed me the vulnerable side that still exists. “I’m sorry, I know now that I overreacted and I should have asked you to start over or waited it out. I instantly went to the place in my mind that had me needing to do something crazy twisted to keep you for myself. It’s a place I have sworn I wouldn’t go again and instantly that’s where my mind went.”
“I will tell you as many times I as need to, you’re it for me. I don’t want to share you. Just so you know, missionary sex with you is better than the kinkiest threesome out there.” I forgot briefly about her broken ribs as I leaned in for a kiss that turned into more.
With careful movements, we managed to christen the living room. If it weren’t for her needing a pain pill, I would have figured out a way to christen a few other rooms as well.
NATALIE
I woke up alone in the bed I’d been sharing with Curtis at the McMann house. After coming back here last night, we decided to stay here for one more night before we make the condo our full-time home. It still hurts to move, the pain mostly coming from my ribs, but I was determined to figure out a way to get around on my own. I couldn’t expect Curtis to carry me everywhere. Ultimately, once my ribs were healed some, I would be able to use crutches without it being so painful.
I got myself into a sitting position and could reach my phone which sat on the bedside table. I called Curtis to see if he was still around, he hadn’t mentioned plans to go anywhere today. I could hear his phone vibrate on the opposite night stand as soon as I hit the connect button. I was hopeful that meant he hadn’t gone far, possibly to the bathroom which is where I desperately needed to go.
I waite
d longer than I should have and now it was past the desperate stage. If I were a little kid, I would be past the “potty dance” stage. I would be in the “oops I peed my pants” stage. I knew I could hop, or try to hop, or limp my way to the bathroom but I also knew the pain would bring me to my knees. I could call anyone who might be upstairs right now, but realistically only the guys would be able to get me to the bathroom in time. My last-ditch effort was to try crawling, I thought it would be less painful than limping or hopping.
I knew I was out of time, so I slowly lowered myself off the side of the bed to the ground. Once I was down, I tried to maneuver from sitting on my butt to being in crawling position. It was awkward to say the least, my cast was hard to get behind me. Twice I tried to crawl over it, but ended up having to lay down completely before having to lift myself up into position. Using my upper body hurt worse than I anticipated. By the time I made it to the bedroom door, I was crying in pain.
My less than good fortune continued. I finally made it to the bathroom, but what little upper body strength I had was completely exhausted. The awkward maneuver to get into the crawling position was nothing when compared to the ones I needed to get myself off the ground. No sooner did I get ready to sit back on the toilet, did the dam break. There I stood a grown ass woman who had just pissed her pants. Or panties as is my case. Now I am stuck in the bathroom in desperate need of a bath and a clean change of clothes. I hadn’t taken a bath since the one Curtis helped me take so, regardless of pissing myself, I was in need.
From the sitting position on the toilet, I could easily stand up; keeping all my weight on the unbroken leg. I managed to heel toe myself until I was close enough to the bathtub to get the water running. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but I didn’t feel like I had any choice.
A half hour later my cast was wet, I was stuck in the tub, and I was naked; but on a good note, I was clean. I couldn’t get my good leg under me enough to get enough traction to stand up without assistance. I tried. After several attempts, I gave up and decided to drain some of the water so I could fill it back up with warm water. I tried to relax, but wasn’t successful. I thought about yelling for help, but knew my luck was shit and it would probably end up being Luke that would show up to help me.
I thought about what I would say if Luke showed up, “Hi Bossman. Don’t mind my nakedness. Any chance you could help me out of the tub, your tub? Hey while you’re at it, can you carry me down the hall to the bedroom I’m using, you know the one I’m having sex in? Oh, what’s that? You like me being naked and you want to give me a raise?” Okay, so that was completely ridiculous and would never ever happen. Luke and Amy are the kind of couple I’ve always wanted to be. If only my future husband would show up and help me, I could stop the crazy train running through my mind.
It was as if my thoughts alone made him appear. He lightly knocked on the door before walking right in. As soon as I saw him, it was clear he’d gotten up early to go running. “What are you doing? How did you get in here? Who helped you? I thought for sure I would make it back before you even woke up.” I could see that he was going to beat himself up if I didn’t hurry up and tell him.
“Nobody helped. I must have woken up right after you left. I tried to call you, but you left your phone. I didn’t have a choice, I had to use the bathroom. Can we not talk about it now? Can you just help me get out of here? I’m stuck, I can’t get myself out.” Then without another word, he slowly helped me get out of the tub.
As soon as he got me back into our room, his eyes went from concerned to hooded in the blink of an eye. His shirt was wet from a combination of me and sweat from his run. Without thought, he tugged the back collar and swiftly pulled the wet shirt from his body. My eyes trailed from his stubble covered face to muscled chest and abs. I followed the happy trail that lead from above his belly button down below the waist band of his basketball shorts. I could see the bulge grow right before my eyes. I sat on the edge of the bed in only a bath towel. Without thought, I simply untucked the towel and let it fall to the side, fully exposing myself to his gaze. I didn’t pull my eyes from his bulge, I couldn’t because I was mesmerized. He took a hesitant step toward me but before he could touch me, I put my hands up to stop him. I spread my legs and allowed him to step between them.
“If you aren’t going to put my cock in your mouth, you had better quit looking at me like that.” His voice was gruff and the warning was clear. “Let me taste you at the same time. Here, let me…” At which point his picks me up and carries me to the end of the bed. As soon as I am in position, I tilt my head over the edge of the mattress and he wastes no time leaning over me. Within minutes we are racing to the finish. He won but only because I was distracted by the pleasure.
CURTIS
I had a mini panic attack when I got back from running and found out bed empty. Luke and Amy were the only two awake when I left for my run, I didn’t figure that either of them helped her get far. I was shocked to find her in the bathtub; I knew it wasn’t easy for her to get in there by herself. I was more than happy to help her out, I would take any opportunity to touch her naked body.
After tasting each other for breakfast, I carried her upstairs for coffee. Her dad was scheduled to get home today and, the last she had talked to him, he was planning on picking up her Mom before coming over to see her. I’d met him already, but it was before we were engaged. I didn’t consider myself traditional, but I knew I needed to show him some respect and ask, albeit a little late, for his permission. I figured she could help me, but she laughed when I told her I wanted to ask his permission.
When her parents arrived, I let them have a few minutes with their daughter while I helped Amy get everyone something to drink. As soon as Amy and Angela started talking wedding, I asked her dad, Tim, if I could talk to him in private. He readily agreed, I kissed the top of Natalie’s head before leaving the room.
I led him out back to the covered seating by the pool and hot tub. I turned on the outdoor space heater and reassured myself that I would make this quick. It was colder outside than I anticipated. “I apologize I didn’t talk to you prior to asking Natalie to marry me. I was raised to have better manners than that. At this point, I plan on marrying her regardless of whether I have your permission or not. But I would still like to have your blessing. There are a few things I would like you to know before you tell me no.” I took several deep breathes before I could continue, “When we were stuck in the truck and I knew she was injured, my world stopped spinning. I lost my parents and older sister when I was 16. It wasn’t something that anyone can prepare for or understand, even after the fact. When you go through something like that, priorities change. When I met Natalie, they changed again. I know what it’s like to lose people you love and I am not willing to lose her.”
He stayed silent for longer than I wanted. I was almost ready to start pleading my case again when he spoke, “Do you think you know her well enough? It’s been what, a week?”
“I think I know her as well as I can at this point.” My stomach was in knots as I waited for him.
“Have you seen her pissed off yet? You know she’s probably a natural redhead under that hair dye she has used.” He was warning me, that’s a good sign.
“I have. I love the fire she has. I don’t expect her to be perfect, I just want her to be real. So far, she is by far the most real person I have ever met. I love that about her. I could tell you a million things I love about your daughter.”
“She is real. She couldn’t hide her emotions, even if she wanted to. I am sure we could take turns going over all the things we love about her. What I can say is that, for the first time in many, many years I can see her happiness. I believe that is all due to you. Angela and I would be honored to have you as part of our family. You don’t need my permission, but you have it and our blessing.”
As soon as our conversation was over, we joined the ladies back inside the warm house. The rest of their visit went great. We hung out at the M
cMann’s a for a bit then took them to see the condo. We had an early dinner with the whole gang at Jack’s.
NATALIE
I woke up because Curtis’ phone rang. Rather than letting it go to voice mail, like most people do when they are sleeping, he answered it. We’d have to talk about that, soon. Never the less he was trying to whisper, which by the way drives me crazy, I could still hear him. It was quickly clear that it was Jimmy and rather than leave the room he stayed right beside me. On one hand, I appreciated it and on the other, I wanted to go back to sleep.
He knew I was awake so when he hung up the phone he told me the news; they were coming for two nights instead of just one. I froze a little because we had only had one night alone in the condo. Our first night didn’t go as I imagined it would have, my parents were there all day which meant I didn’t take a nap. By the time we got home from Jacks, he carried me straight to bed where I proceeded to pass out. I felt a little bad that we didn’t have sex on our first night in the condo, but felt okay knowing we had another night before his guests would arrive.
He must have felt my body freeze because rather than snuggling into my back, he gently rolled me onto my back so he could see my face. “Talk to me. Why did you go stiff?”
